GRANTHAM 115 



the Lincolnshire side from Melton than do now. We 

 are told that besides the attractions of Goodall, some 

 of the hard riding men used to go on purpose to take 

 on Sir Thomas Whichcote on King Charming or some 

 other of his magnificent horses. 



Once more on the principle of trying to see our- 

 selves as others see us, I give an extract from the 

 graphic diary of Mr. Vickerman, who seems to have 

 thought nothing of riding from Melton to Grantham, 

 sixteen miles, and thence hacking the famous Cognac 

 on to Aswarby. This is how the Lincolnshire side 

 appeared to him. " The country round here was 

 very rough and uninviting, smallish fields and a good 

 deal of heavy plough "• — there is more pasture now- 

 adays — " and blind wide fences very unlike some of 

 the country I had passed through on my way from 

 Grantham, which though principally plough land 

 seemed firm, with large fields and neat compact 

 fences." They had a good gallop, and Mr. Vickerman, 

 who early saw the " propriety of taking a line of 

 my own," was with the hounds, and in the course 

 of it " Cognac " (the writer always gives all the credit 

 to his horse) " set the whole field twice. The first 

 place looked on coming to it like an ordinary hedge 

 with a widish ditch on the other side, but when taking 

 it, it proved to be a Lincolnshire dyke, very wide 

 in itself but with the earth dug away at this parti- 

 cular fence, materially increasing the width. While 

 in the air I thought he must drop short, but he 

 cleared it gallantly, and turning round I shouted to 

 one of the whips who was following me that it was 

 a bad place, but found that he did not need the hint, 

 for neither he nor any one else attempted it. The 

 second place occurred when hounds were running 

 slowly, and in the latter part of the run I could 



